PG&E pledges $500,000 for utility research

The TREE Fund is pleased to announce that Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has donated $250,000 to the Utility Arborist Association (UAA) for Integrated Vegetation Management (IVM)/Utility Vegetation Management (UVM) research on utility corridors in western North America. This research will be administered via a TREE Fund directed grant program. $50,000 of the total is “seed” funding intended to encourage other companies to join forces in supporting UVM research.

PG&E is focused on addressing both the current research deficit in the utility industry and ensuring future utility research; the latter can be achieved by building the Utility Arborist Research Fund (UARF). PG&E has pledged an additional $250,000 to the UARF over the next two years in the form of a matching grant. For every $2.00 specifically donated to the UARF by an individual or company (outside of PG&E), PG&E will donate one additional dollar, up to $125,000 per year in 2016 and 2017.

To learn more about this exciting initiative or to contribute, contact J. Eric Smith at the TREE Fund.